September 26, 2025

Japan’s Food Imports Top ¥10 Trillion for Third Straight Year

Japan’s dependence on foreign food continues to deepen. Food imports surpassed ¥10 trillion for the third consecutive year in 2024—nearly nine times the value of exports. A combination of global competition for food, abnormal weather, and the weakening yen has driven costs ever higher.

Weather Shocks Reshape Import Patterns

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, imports of agricultural products, including meat and other livestock items, rose 5% from the previous year to ¥9.5443 trillion, while marine products increased 2% to ¥2.0589 trillion. Together, total food imports grew 5% to ¥11.6032 trillion—almost double the level of 2010.

Unstable weather worldwide is transforming Japan’s fruit aisles. Bananas from Laos and Ecuador now sit alongside the usual Philippine variety, while pineapples from Taiwan join those from the Philippines. Severe drought in the Philippines in 2024 drove up local prices of bananas and pineapples, pushing Japan to diversify sourcing. Overall, fruit imports reached ¥431.6 billion, up 10% year-on-year, with the weak yen compounding costs.

Japan’s food imports first topped ¥10 trillion in 2022, fueled by soaring grain prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rapid yen depreciation. Since then, a mix of global instability and currency weakness has kept import bills rising.

Rising Imports, Shrinking Self-Sufficiency

The government has been promoting exports, which reached ¥1.3427 trillion in agricultural and marine products in 2024—up 4% from the previous year. But imports remain vastly larger in scale and are growing at a faster pace.

“Japan has the lowest food self-sufficiency rate among developed nations,” warns Professor Nobuhiro Suzuki, an agricultural economist at the University of Tokyo. “We can no longer take pride in exports alone. Food security must be a national priority.”

With the farming population in steep decline, Japan’s ability to produce its own food is eroding. Trading companies are also losing ground in international markets. Suzuki argues that new approaches are essential: “We need a system that allows local residents to participate in farming as a side job, enabling each region to achieve a measure of self-sufficiency. Japan is entering an era where we will either starve—or plant.”